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Might surprise some of you, but I voted Yes. Inducted 4-1-68. April fools day. It had alot to do with who I am today.
No exemptions, though. Take 'em all.
The US's (drafted), I served with were a saner lot than most of the RA's (volunteers).

JD

One cannot reason someone out of something they were not reasoned into. - Jonathan Swift

I didn't vote. I have mixed feelings about this. The Iraq War has shown the limits of how far we can go with a volunteer army. I suspect that many of the strategic decisions made to limit the size of our force were directly attributable to having an insufficient number of forces available. We have also only been able to maintain our presence by resorting to a backdoor draft where we have seriously redefined the role of the reserves and imposed extended rotations in a manner that is likely to reduce future recruitment.

If there is a draft, I believe that it should be universal and should encompass both military and non-military service. There would need to be some flexibility about the timing of service along the lines of saying that each person needs to serve two years beginning sometime between the ages of 18 and 25. In this context, I would not have any exemptions for any reason short of permanent total disability. My own view is that if a person believes that their personal freedom trumps any claims of the country upon them, they should probably go live on an island where they can form their own country. We each have a communal responsibility to the country in return for the benefits we receive by being part of the country.

Absolutely and unequivocally no. There isn't a need for it and there shouldn't be a must serve clause either. Fix the major problem in the country, IE the economy. Neither a draft nor a must serve clause helps that. In fact, it would cripple it even worse.

I believe mandatory service is a good thing. Everyone should have to spend 2 years in military immediately after graduating high school or obtaining GED. There are different MOS's in the military and the ASVAB is supposed to help decide what job you are best suited for. I firmly believe the majority of the people should not benefit from what so few people are willing to provide, FREEDOM.

I vote for mandantory service (of some type) to our country. As long as the current system serves our needs, no need to draft. However, we all know that could change.
I was faced with the draft in 1965 and made the decision to enlist. Like one of the posters above, I believe those 4 years made me who I am today....but who knows. It certainly taught me discipline, decision making, respect, responsibility etc that I didn't have before I went in. Also allowed me to go to college afterward and pursue a great career.

Well thought out responses. What I didn't say before is that I was a Marine for almost 6 years. I joined the military to help pay for college. I could have gotten more from the Army, but chose the Marines based on what the recruiter said the Marines would do for me as a person.

If we had a draft right now, I bet O'bama would try to turn it into some PC national service garbage.

Back in my time, only men served first off. So what would we do about the females today?

When I went into the Guard in '53, all the boys were obligated to their country for 8 years...2 had to be active military, 2 active reserve, 4 standby reserve. When I was called up to active duty in '58 I served my 2 years, and was on standby until my discharge in '61.

Given my druthers, I'd be in favor of every able-bodied man serving in the military at least 2 years. It might just change some of the PC attitudes that are so rampant today.

UB

When the one you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.